The Proceedings of the Information Systems Education Conference 2001: §34b Home Papers/Indices prev (§34a) Next (§34c)

Paper (refereed) IT Education: Best Practices

Recommended Citation: Finkbine, R B and P Macpherson. Growing Testers: Incorporating Testing Concepts Throughout the CS Curriculum. In The Proceedings of the Information Systems Education Conference 2001, v 18 (Cincinnati): §34b.

Growing Testers: Incorporating Testing Concepts Throughout the CS Curriculum

Refereed

Ronald B. Finkbine    [a1] [a2]
Department of Computer Science
Indiana University Southeast    [u1] [u2]
New Albany, Indiana, USA    [c1] [c2]

Peter Macpherson    [a1] [a2]
Department of Applied Technology
Rogers State University    [u1] [u2]
Claremore, Oklahoma, USA    [c1] [c2]

Traditionally, software testing is introduced to students in Introduction to Programming, and then not treated in depth until an upper level course in Software Engineering. Software testing is often taught as a standalone subject instead of intertwined with all areas of software development. This treatment indicates to students that testing occupies a minor role in the field. This paper proposes an alternative approach of integrating testing methods progressively through the CS curriculum. As students master new CS materials, they will be exposed to the appropriate methods for testing their programs. In addition, this paper makes the claim that appropriate testing should be a distinct component in the grading of assignments.

Keywords: software testing, CS curriculum

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